Barbie - A Holiday Tradition

Welcome again!

Today we have a very special doll indeed. We are going to feature this year's Holiday Barbie!

This is a special year as it was the 30th Anniversary of the Holiday Barbie. Here she is!

And her box is friendly for boxed but deboxed photos! Note if you want to display or take her out of the box for photos. I've noticed that it is infinitely easier to take them out from the bottom than from the top. She is very easy to slide out!

And she is beautiful. 

I know it's another red dress (because we seem to be getting red every year) but since this is the 30th anniversary and they modeled this dress after the very first Happy Holiday's Barbie from 1988, they went with red. I don't know if the one sleeve on the shoulder one sleeve off is intentional but it works!

And wow! What a necklace! Her curls are 'Holiday Barbie' hard and probably will need some fixing up if you take her out of the box. I do like the little headband!

Her dress has ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles! And a bow around the waist. 
 

More ruffles!

And I had to check the shoes and they are awesome! Mine seems to be coming off of her foot. I tried to put it back on but it wouldn't budge. 

The back of the box reads: "The holiday season is rich with traditions. For 30 years the HOLIDAY BARBIE doll has created a long lasting legacy of imagination and celebration. May she inspire you to love joyfully, celebrate special moments and create memories you'll treasure for a lifetime."

And as in years past, each skin tone has a different arm position. The photos of the dolls below don't show the one sleeve on shoulder one sleeve off shoulder as in my doll so like I said, I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

So, since I do have the original 1988 Happy Holidays Barbie, let's do a side by side comparison!

As is typical with dolls from the 80's, it's all about big and poofy and this doll has it. There is still the bow around the waist and the ruffles are a good take for the modern twist on the original. 

But 2018 and the back of the 1988 box gives a better look. Love the holly in the hair on the 1988!

Check the sleeves

It looks like one sleeve on one sleeve off! Maybe it was intentional this year. 

But Mattel, please PLEASE no more red dresses next year! If you could bring back the Mackie Barbies, that would be great. ;)

Friends, did you get this year's holiday Barbie? Do you like her or not like her? Let me know in the comments! 

Next post coming soon!

Christmas Treasures #4

Hello Again!

I mentioned last time that I might have a Barbie...or two. And the "or two" usually means that there WILL be two but let's just start with one for now. 

Ready?

The beautiful Aqua Holiday Barbie!

My mom every year gets me the Holiday Barbie and I always get the blonde doll because I have blonde hair. :) love it. 

The Holiday dolls this year are in non-friendly boxes so there is no way to get them out for deboxed photos. I like the different packaging and how it looks like a snow globe but I would have opted for a generic square box so I could take them out but not take them out. 

I don't know how you feel about the holiday dolls this year but they really didn't sit well with me. Barbie is all about the foof and fluff and glitz and glamour that the Holiday season brings. These just seem kind of lackluster! 

Here is the very first thing I noticed. Absolutely NO jewelry. No earrings. No necklace. All we have is a bracelet. If they are going to skimp on the jewelry they could have given us rooted eylashes. Am I right?

She has very simple makeup and hair that is pulled back and curled on the ends. I like the softer hairstyle. Sometimes the "Holiday Barbie Hard Hair" is too much!

I did want to make note of the plastic upper. This was the second thing I noticed. Plastic on the dress? Come on! Since I'm not taking these out of the box I can't say how pliable the plastic is but from watching an unboxing of the doll, the plastic is tacked on the sides with some thread so the back just has the velcro for the dress. I'm not sure how this is going to hold up with regular play. If you zoom in on the photo, you can see that her upper is a mix of stars and snowflakes. 

Unlike the plastic upper, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ombre skirt. And the aqua gives us a little change from the bold red dress we've seen the last couple of years. And it's sparkly. Love that.

 

The back of the box reads: "The Peace, Hope, and Love Collection captures the magic that fills our hears this time of year. That's why there's not one, but a trio of lovely Holiday Barbie Dolls. Each doll, showcased in her own "snow globe", is dressed in a festive, jewel-toned gown embellished with a sparkling bodice, and matching shoes. May they bring you joy and the happiest of holidays!"

I hate when I feel this way about the dolls. I love the Holiday Barbies and they hold a very special place in my heart. Me and Holiday Barbie go way back to the beginning. Back when I took them out of the box, brushed their hair, changed their clothes so they could have a slumber party then got them all dressed up again so they could go to the ball. Remember my first?

 

The aqua really is a pretty doll. I do love her. But wouldn't it be great to get a Mackie doll again?

So, this year there were three dolls. I had a gift certificate from Mattel so it was only natural to get another one of the colors. The day after Christmas I checked two stores only to find all they had left was the Aqua color doll. Until one day.... I went to Wal-Mart and they not only had the blue, but also the red doll (and no Aqua. How's that for luck?) Which did I choose?

I kind of fell in love with the face mold of this one. This is a very beautiful doll! 

She does not have any jewelry like the Aqua doll except for the bracelet.

Her plastic upper is different. This one is designed with stars and has birds at the shoulders. I like that!

This doll has a blue ombre skirt. It's not a navy but more of a deep royal blue. Love the color!

So there are my two dolls for today. But wait!

My wonderful mom bought me the red AND blue dolls when they were on closeout after Christmas. How sweet is she? So now I have two of the blue dolls :) I'll find a little girl to give it to. 

The red is gorgeous too. Her upper is really hard to tell exactly what it is. Some kind of foliage and flowers (I think.) The very bottom of it by her waist reminds me of Oak leaves. She also has a pretty face.

(note: watched a review and it says that her upper is poinsettia and mistletoe.) 

And this is not a "red" but more towards burgundy. (The true color didn't come out in the photos. Looks more red.) We've had some burgundy dolls in the past and I've always loved them. The perfect holiday color.

So this is the 2016 Peace, Hope, and Love Collection. I tried to find out which color is peace, hope, and love but the Barbie Collector website does not say. 

Differences between the dolls are:

Arm movement (Both arms bent on Aqua, one bent one straight on Blue, both straight on Red)

Ombre (light to dark on Aqua and Blue, dark to light on Red)

Dress Straps (strapless on Aqua, two straps on Blue, one shoulder on Red)

Hair Color

Skin Color

As I mentioned, I do love the dolls and they are pretty and have sweet looking faces. Loving the ombre skirts for sure!

So friends, did any of the Holiday dolls make their way into your collection? What did you think of them this year? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time!

A Very Barbie Christmas

Hello again Barbie Friends!

Today I've got one of my newest Barbie additions from Christmas to show you. 

As I do every year, here is the new edition of the Holiday Barbie!

Isn't she gorgeous? 

And as in recent years, the box has been friendly to allow for some great photos!

I love her face however, I do wish that they all had real eyelashes. Anyone else with me on that one? 

Her dress has a beautiful jeweled upper while the lower is a mix of printed silver and red organza. 

Gorgeous!

I had to search a little to find her shoes. They are peep-toe pumps. Super cute!

As in past years, there is an excerpt on the back of the box. It reads: "A joyful winter wonderland awaits you! The pleasure of being home for the holidays - fragrant evergreen forests, a horse-drawn sleigh, and lots of love and laughter - are the wishes for this beautiful scene, delivered by 2015 Holiday barbie. Lacy white "branches" frame our radiant Barbie doll dressed in a ruffly red holiday gown embellished with a silvery brocade inset. An intricately sculpted, silvery trim accents her sweetheart neckline. Happiest Holidays to you!"

And I also got the Holiday Barbie Hallmark Ornament! She's so cute and I love how they included a hanger. Those generic ornament hangers don't work so well on ornaments this heavy. 

However I remember posting a while ago about how Hallmark would no longer be making Barbie ornaments anymore. Strange.

As the back of the box says, there are branches around her and I do love them. Adds to the overall winter feel of the box. The last few years we have seen dolls dressed in red but I do love this one. She is just exquisite! 

Did you find the 2015 Holiday Barbie under your tree this year? Let me know in the comments!

I'll have more Christmas goodies coming up soon! 

Christmas Time Fun

A week since the last post? I am SERIOUSLY shirking my duties as a blog writer! I promise to be more diligent. I have lots to write about!

Even though I am SO ready for summer I figured now would be a great time to make one final Christmas doll post. Because the closer to summer I get, the more I will not want to write about holiday stuff.

Today, we have a cute, fun doll. Does anyone else have her?

This is Tree Trimming Barbie from 1998. The most fun of the holiday season for me is trimming the tree. It is for this doll as well!

Isn't she adorable with her chunky knit sweater and green velvet pants? You also know that my favorite dolls are the ones with super long hair. Well, I also love the ones with straight bangs. Cute!

She holds a cute little ornament ready to put on the tree. Another fun thing about this doll is inside the box there are ornament punch outs so you can help Barbie decorate her tree.

On the back of the box is the instructions on how. I think it's a very cute idea!

This would be a very cute display doll if I had taken her out of the box. I would have left her holding her ornament. So cute. I think my favorite part is the sweater!

See you next time (hopefully sooner than a week) with another post not holiday themed. :)

Until next time!

A few more ornaments

Are any of you having some trouble getting back into the "swing" of things after the new year? Or is this just me? It seems like when I get home from work, all I want to do is sit and do nothing. Even trying to make dinner seems like a chore. Maybe because there has been snow on the ground here for about a month?

Well anyway, I'm back with a new post! Sorry sorry for all the wait!

Going through my boxes of Christmas decorations, I found some more Barbie ornaments. However, these are not like the Hallmark kind. These are porcelain of the most breakable kind. I'm surprised that none of these are broken considering how many times these ornaments have been moved with me in the past 5 years. But they've stayed in their original packaging and have been handled with care in boxes with the word "FRAGILE" plastered all over it.

So here is the collection!

The first: Barbie as the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Isn't she beautiful? Dress is a little smooshed from being in her tight Styrofoam packaging.  But I love how they styled her arms. So befitting of the perfect ballerina.

Really great detail!

The boxes have fun excerpts like the Holiday Barbies. This one reads: "Barbie as the Sugar Plum Fairy captures the beauty of this lovely ballet character. With her tea-length tutu of shimmering, layered tulle...her tiny ballet slippers...and her golden tiara, she is the perfect beginning of an exquisite collection."

She is the first in the series. Next up: Barbie as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake.

Don't you just love the feathers? And the dress is just adorable. So cute! And again, such great detail went into making these.

Her box reads: "Barbie as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake captures the essence of this breathtaking ballet character. With her glittering tulle and organza tutu...her tiny ballet slippers...her silvery tiara...and her delicate, fluttering feathers, she is the perfect second addition to an exquisite collection."

Well, the tiny ballet slippers are always cute. Anything little is so cute right? :) This is the doll she was modeled after.

barbie.mattel.com

Not a bad job of making the two look identical. I may have to look for this doll, so beautiful.

Next is a little different. I don't think there was a third in the series of these ornaments but they did put out this one called "Lighter Than Air."

This one is my favorite of the three. So beautiful. I never had the will to put her on the tree for fear of her delicate arms and legs getting broken. The other two are not so much of an issue but this one is very delicate.

She's so beautiful.

Her box reads: "Your Barbie Lighter Than Air Porcelain Ornament is crafted in fine porcelain and her delicately painted face fully expresses the classic beauty and manner of a prima ballerina. Dark, up-swept hair is the perfect contrast to her pastel portrait. Her glorious costume and lithe pose are inspired by the renowned paintings of Edgar Degas. Layers of soft, hued, pleated tulle portray her as the perfect picture of ethereal grace. Her forever winsome look is completed with ivory ballet slippers."

Most of Degas' paintings are of ballet. Paintings of dancers in the studio, on the stage, and everywhere. He loved ballet. The pose of this dancer resembles our Barbie.

L'Etoile (The Ballerina) by Edgar Degas. www.pinterest.com

And last but certainly not least: Barbie as the Millennium Bride.

What a great likeness of Barbie! And the silver roses are perfect for this bride. I love the cathedral veil. And she has such a sweet face.

This face just shows that she is happy and is truly the blushing bride! She is a lot more composed than I was on my wedding day. I forgot to look at my husband while I was coming down the aisle because I was looking at everyone looking at me. Then the waterworks turned on when he wrote me a song. Ah, memories. :)

Her box write up is so cute. "There's one thing that hasn't changed since the first millennium - the fetching beauty of a blushing bride on her wedding day. This Barbie Millennium Bride porcelain Ornament embodies the elegance and grace every bride dreams of. She is simply breathtaking in a special bridal gown of shimmering tulle over satin the color of moonlight. Its dramatic silhouette is highlighted by a sweeping train that drifts out from the back of her gown. Her glimmering cathedral-length veil flows from a delicate silvery tiara that crowns her long hair and she carries a beautiful bouquet of silver-hued roses."

These ornaments were produced and sold by Avon. My mom has sold Avon for as long as I can remember. Since I was in preschool I think! I love Avon products and they have come out with some awesome things through the years. These ornaments being some of them!

I promise I will be back sooner this week. Until next time!

More Barbie Christmas-ness

Hello all!

I hope you all had a wonderful and prosperous Christmas. I know that I sure did! It's always wonderful getting to spend quality time with friends and loved ones.

I mentioned in my last 25 Days of Barbie post that I would be posting more Holiday Barbie things till the end of January. So here is one!

I also mentioned in some of my 25 Days of Barbie posts that I acquired some Barbie Hallmark Ornaments. So I decided to pull them out since they have been stored for quite some time. There were a lot that I had forgotten about. Here they are!

Here we have the collection of vintage doll ornaments. Original 1959, Bride, Solo in the Spotlight, Enchanted Evening, and Gay Parisienne Barbie.

Here we have Barbie and Ken on their wedding day. Love this set!

Next is this little collection including Japanese Barbie, Native American Barbie, and a special Year 2000 edition Harley Davidson Barbie.

Now we have the springtime Barbie collection (and Barbie as Rapunzel on the left.) The Springtime dolls series are from the left: 1997, 1995, and 1996.

These are two ornaments that are not dolls. On the left is Holiday Traditions Barbie and the right Victorian Elegance Barbie.

Now here is the back and the inside of the ornament. The inside reads: "Inspired by the 1994 Hallmark exclusive Victorian Elegance Barbie Doll."

Here is a 40th Anniversary doll "40 Years of Fashion". The bodice of her dress is supposed to mimic the original swimsuit fashion.

The 1988 and 1993 Happy Holidays Dolls. The 1988 was a Hallmark Ornament Collectors Club Exclusive. My mom joined the club to get me this ornament. I wish she had stayed in for the other earlier Happy Holidays Dolls!

The1994 and 1995 Happy Holidays Dolls

The 1996 and 1997 Happy Holidays Dolls

The 1998 Happy Holidays Doll

The 1999 Millennium Princess and the 2000 Celebration Barbie each holding their adorable ornaments!

The 2001 Holiday Celebration Barbie and 2004 Holiday Barbie (in green!)

So I don't have all of them. My mom stopped getting them for me after 2000. I think I picked up these last two when I was out shopping the day after Christmas. As you know there is A LOT of Barbie collector items so sometimes you have to pick and choose what you want to collect (unless you have a 5,000 square foot house to store and display them which most of us do NOT have!) :) But what I do have is super cute and I love and treasure them all!

I did get one more Barbie Ornament this year. But you will have to guess! This is the description from the back of the box. *hint* She is a vintage.

"A hush falls over the crowd as Barbie strolls into the concert hall for the performance. No woman has ever worn flaming crimson with such confidence - or such style! The picture of studied elegance, Barbie wears a bold modern jacket dress with leopard trim, a pillbox hat, and matching scarf and pumps. The society pages will be talking about this outfit for days to come!"

Do you know who she is?

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Matinee Fashion! My wonderful mom bought her for me. Mostly only because I have her with my mom's original fashion.

So that is all my ornaments. I hope you enjoyed!

Everyone have a very happy and safe New Year's Eve! I'm going to stay home and play with dolls. What could be more fun? :)